“It’s so sad. It shouldn’t be like this. We need formula for our kid, and where is this formula going to come from?” This is a lingering question from mother of two, Capri Isidoro, struggling to breast feed her one-month-old daughter. After giving birth, the hospital gave her baby formula without consulting her on any wish to breastfeed first, a common occurrence among minority moms.
The baby formula shortage puts Hispanic and Black women at risk the most. The CDC estimates that only 20% of Black women and 23% of Hispanic women exclusively breast feed in the first six months. Boston 25 News has reported that Black women face more obstacles to breast feeding than their white counterparts. They receive less lactation support, receive more pressure to formula feed, and have to deal with cultural roadblocks. Black mothers also see a higher mortality rate due to pregnancy complications and their pain is not taken as seriously.
As noted in a May 12, 2022 vox.com article by Dylan Scott, recent CDC findings have reported that Black, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian parents are more likely to say they have used formula than white parents. After the 2013 controversy in China involving tainted formula from New Zealand, only 28% of new mothers strayed from using it. Coupled with the high rate of Caesarean births in China and the enormous population as a whole, the struggle to naturally feed infants becomes more complicated and urgent. In 2015, the Chinese government started following the World Health Organization’s mandate that infant formula could no longer be claimed as a suitable substitute for human milk. An apparent trend (as reported by Suresh Kishranao in 2018) of pediatricians influencing Asian mothers to focus primarily on formula for the first six months is making this shortage situation that much more urgent for the Asian population.
Asian, Hispanic, and black women generally have to go back to work earlier than their White counterparts, and they do not always have designated pumping areas or times. Consequently, they are more likely to use formula. They are also found to be in the lower income bracket, making their resources limited. Low-income families are reported by Boston 25 News to buy the most formula and the grocery stores present in the areas for those populations do not replenish their shelves as much as larger stores. Supply chain problems have struck in a different way during covid, and the recent shortage that began in February has not helped. Mothers are reaching out to each other for help. In Miami, Denise Castro owns not only a construction company, but is also responsible for starting a virtual new mom’s support group for mothers during the pandemic. “Most of the moms we have been helping are Black and Latinas,” Castro reported. “These moms really don’t have the time to visit three to four places in their lunch hour.”
One of the main points of Andrea Freedman’s 2019 book Skimmed: Breastfeeding, Race and Injustice. is that minority mothers are not getting the breastfeeding support that they need. However, breast feeding is not always an option for mothers. There are complications for the mother. They sometimes cannot produce enough milk and can even get infections from trying to breast feed. Inducing lactation to help produce milk does not always work and mothers become dependent on formula. On the other hand, it could be the child. If the doctor sees that they are not gaining enough weight or are looking malnourished despite all the mother’s efforts, they might recommend formula. There are also special dietary needs that a baby might have that makes formula a better option against natural breast milk. They could also have gastrointestinal conditions or other disorders.
The chair of American Academy of Pediatrics’ breastfeeding group, Dr. Lori Feldman-Winter, noted that some infants have galactosemia, a condition that leaves them unable to metabolize sugar in breast milk. This can leave babies like this dependent on specialized formula only. Yury Navas in Maryland has a three-month-old with his own set of gastrointestinal problems. She and her husband have spent all the time they can rushing from store to store to find the right formula for their child. All the others have caused him to vomit, have diarrhea, and discomfort. Sometimes changing to a different brand of formula can also cause these problems. As mother’s struggle to find alternate forms of food, they risk getting their babies sick due to the shortage.
On May 23rd, 2022, Shrewsbury, MA. Rep. Congress candidate Jeffrey Sossa-Paquette commented on the recently released Democrat led bill that addresses this formula shortage. He claims it will not help, stating, “Throwing money at the bureaucratic institution that caused this crisis in the first place will not put formula in the mouths of babies for months.” He identifies that “four companies are responsible for 90% of our formula, and the FDA just shut down one company’s whole plant down in Michigan. Over what you may ask? Some investigative concerns over four children, causing a recall that led to the shortage across the nation.” That investigation saw death as an outcome.
In February, Abbott Nutrition’s plant in Sturgis, Michigan, saw huge safety issues, resulting in the corruption of a majority of Abbott’s products. A contamination problem in the form of a rare bacterial infection caused the hospitalization of four infants, resulting in two deaths. Afterward, Abbott shut down the factory and performed a recall on some of its key products in the area. Simulac of course was included and the shutdown plus the recall estimated about a fifth of the U.S. formula supply. Abbott was said to control around 40% of the market before the recall hit. This plus the amount of formula in the U.S. that Abbott is said to control creates a huge shortage problem in baby formula.
There are glimmers of hope on the horizon. A May 31, 2022 New York Times article noted that the Abbott plant in Michigan is looking at possibly reopening in two weeks, though any new formula might not arrive for another eight or more. By invoking the Defense Production Act, President Biden has ensured the increase of production and distribution via Defense Department Aircraft. The FDA has also more clearly defined criteria for receipt of formula outside the US. Whether or not any of these measures in place as you read this article will provide immediate help or long-term improvements remains to be seen.
A Boston-based Day Care Center director spoke for many when she told this reporter: “My daughter is frantic. Her baby, my granddaughter, is allergic to breastmilk. We were down to our last bottle the other day and we’re scrambling to find resources. It’s not good and I’m worried that whatever is done to fix the current situation won’t be enough to prevent it from happening again.”